Exclusive: Rob Zombie Talks Halloween 2, Myers, and Unlikely Heroes

Today I sat down with Rob Zombie to get to the bottom of a few things pertaining to his upcoming film “>Halloween 2. What direction has the series taken, what’s up with the characters, what’s up with Michael’s look, who is this teased “unlikely hero”, and most of all will this be his last outing in Haddonfield? Read on for the goods.

“The first one had a lot of … baggage? I guess that’s the word? Whereas this one had none,” Zombie tells Dread Central. “I could have done whatever I wanted with the first one, and I guess I did to a point, but I felt that since it was technically a remake that there are some important things that you need to take into account. If you change it too much it’s weird, if you don’t change it enough it’s weird, so you get kind of trapped in that bizarre remake zone that movies fall into. What’s great about following up your own movie is now it’s all new. The thought of past Halloweens hasn’t even entered any of our minds.”

“What was difficult with the last one was that Laurie Strode and all those characters were characters as envisioned by John Carpenter, and I … just like everyone else, that’s how they came into my brain, so that’s how everyone saw them,” Zombie continues. “So as much as you want to change them, you still sort of see them that way. But now enough time has passed that I really don’t see them that way anymore. Laurie and all these characters are now totally different and have absolutely no relation to what came before, and for that reason I think that they are about a million times more interesting.”

From here we got to shooting the shit about Michael himself and the many changes the character has gone through both personally and aesthetically.

“Tyler is ten times bigger than he was in the first movie. He’s probably packed on about fifty pounds of muscle for this film. Michael Myers is funny, because that’s the character that nobody wants to see change. They always want him to be and look the same,” says Zombie. “For me one of the main things that interests me about making Halloween is making that character change. When approaching this film I was like, well, where did Michael go? Did he disappear into the shadows like a ghost and then suddenly reappear? What I thought would be cool and kind of scary would be if he were like right out there in plain sight and no one notices him anymore because he just looks like a homeless bum. When you see pictures of him it looks odd, but within the context of the film it makes perfect sense. It’s interesting because that happens sometimes. I mean you see these homeless people, and you’re like — who are they? They could be fuckin’ serial killers for all you know. Maniacs. But you don’t pay any attention to them. Michael is just living on the fringe of society.”

“My Michael Myers is a totally different Michael Myers, so the rules of what has come before don’t really apply to what I am trying to do with him,” Zombie continues. “I love the fact that he’s big and physical and brutal. He’s like a bull in a china shop. He’s totally calm until that moment that his brain snaps and he’s just beyond vicious. He’s much more brutal this time around. Michael’s insane. I’ve always played him as if he is completely insane. He lives in a different reality than the rest of the world does. What he sees and hears and does has no basis in normalcy. In this movie I just wanted to mess a bit with the way that he perceives the world. What he sees has no reality to it.”

At this point the conversation moved to the synopsis that the Weinsteins had put out earlier in the week. Allow me to reiterate it for ya: “It’s that time of year again, and Michael Myers has returned home to sleepy Haddonfield, Illinois to take care of some unfinished family business. Unleashing a trail of terror that only horror master Rob Zombie can, Myers will stop at nothing to bring closure to the secrets of his twisted past. But the town’s got an unlikely new hero, if they can only stay alive long enough to stop the unstoppable.”

Who is the unlikely hero? Weird Al? Uncle Coffins? The Skunk Ape from Corpses? Rob’s reaction to this was pretty fucking hysterical.

“I have no idea who this unlikely hero is. I haven’t read their synopsis. I don’t even know if it’s correct. Shit. I don’t know!” Rob laughs. “Truthfully I don’t even know what they could be hinting at.”

With that it was time to wrap things up. Was this the end for Zombie’s stint in Haddonfield? He already said he wouldn’t be back after the remake. What about after the sequel?

“This is the last one for me. It’s the last one for all of us. I said that after the first one too because I was just mega-burnt out and I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore, but sequels are nice when you can get in there and expand and complete your original ideas,” Zombie continues. “When this one was over, we all kind of walked away from it feeling that we established something with the first one, and in this second one we really expanded upon it, and got to go somewhere with it kind of like we did in Devil’s Rejects. This movie is to the first Halloween what Devil’s Rejects was to House of 1000 Corpses. The same way that I thought House of 1000 corpses was more cartoony and Rejects was more real, I feel that the Halloween remake was more cartoony and this one is more gritty and real. Halloween the remake was more like me at odds with someone else’s world. Whereas this is one hundred percent my thing. The way that the characters act, dress, move, talk, walk, everything, it’s all me. This is a much darker, dirtier, nastier, and more psychotic world. After this there’s nothing more we can do. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be more, there just won’t be more involving me.”

There you have it, kids! Hope that clears a few things up for ya! Look for Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 in theatres August 28th!

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IF THE FIRST PART WAS AWESOME..I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW COOL THIS ONE IS GOANNA BE!!!

vorodex999

Y’know I met Tyler Mane and Derek Mears at Texas Frightmare Weekend 2009 last weekend and they are two of the funniest guys I have ever heard especially together and how they play off of each other. I mean It was that funny people. Derek Mears is a truly devoted fan really is a nice guy to his fans. Tyler mane is pretty much the same way, but a little more serious. Still funny though. After meeting him, I couldnt help but get somewhat excited about this film. I was one of the first five people to meet him and it was cool because he answered some questions and took a pic, and if anyone ever gets a chance read his blogs on myspace, they’ll make you laugh. All I’m saying is really I am excited about this film now. I hope that its good, I cant judge a trailer or some pics. If thats the case There’s ALOT of films I would have never given a chance. It’s a different take on Halloween and you know one way or another you have to except it. It’s pointless to complain at this point or try to fight it. Its coming out and you bet I’ll be there along with the other millions going to see it. The classics are there for everyone to enjoy just be happy about that. Because if you think a petition will change anything, then I guess its possible someone could build a time machine and go back and erase the classic Halloween films from existance (wish they would with part 8). Yeah if that was possible.

Heather Buckley

You then must yearn for the final match-up: Jason vs Michael. You’d get Derek (who is awesome) and your Tyler (who I never met but would believe is also awesome). This petition which is all over Dread, is it a commitment to a bit or an actual thing? Posters seem to be taking it literally.

Hobo Myers wishes his dear old mother a Happy Mother’s Day. We felt that Michael did a fairly poor job at showing his true feelings about his mother but we don’t have that kind of time guess you’ll have to wait to see what BS Rob has in store for us come this August.

Your very closed minded aren’t ya.And by the sound of it a little to hyped up about something you haven’t seen yet.I mean I wish I could hate a movie just off of interviews and what is in a min long clip.So I say good job at letting nothing get past that closed mind of yours..your aces.God help us if there are more of you.

ZOMBIEFRIENDS

With all the crappy overrated prequel/remake *cough* I mean re- envisionings of other classic films we have had to put up with here lately is it really being close-minded or wishing that they would open their minds and make new horror. Or at the least appreciate the original horror that is being made. For Rob to say ” There is no original horror being made, it’s all remakes” Shows that for someone who keeps having all these great Visions of his, he should shut up and make some. Here’s an idea budget your film with some of your record labels cash or some out of your own bank.

Carrion Filth

For all that is holy give it up your wasting time trying to get something passed that will never happen..I mean lets be logical about this every time a movie is remade something like this goes down in one way or another.I hated the new Friday the 13th did I go see it in the theater yes..you know why…because one day i’ll look back and say hey I saw that when it came out in theaters it was a part of the history of horror and the steps that it goes through from time to time.I mean are you really going to do this when Romero’s The Crazies hits theaters,or how about the new Nightmare on Elm street a series that so many grew up watching…we all know the answer is no so why do it now..like I said give it up and grow up and just go watch the damn movie even if only to say hey I watched it and to support the thing we all love HORROR.

Halloween was dead long before Rob Zombie got his hands on it. Fuck I’d rather watch his version of things than anything after 3.

Heather Buckley

Do you mean the franchise was dead or the original? I would agree with the franchise being dead, the original is still a classic. I would even say it was Carpenter at his best.

G.D.

Ok 1: “I have no idea who this unlikely hero is. I haven’t read their synopsis. I don’t even know if it’s correct. Shit. I don’t know!” Rob laughs. “Truthfully I don’t even know what they could be hinting at.”

Bullshit.

2: He thinks his remake was cartoony?

Um….wow…I have no idea what to think of that…

Rorschach

“My Michael Myers is a totally different Michael Myers, so the rules of what has come before don’t really apply to what I am trying to do with him.” Zombie continues. “I love the fact that he’s big, and physical, and brutal. He’s like a bull in a china shop.”

And therein lies one of my biggest problems with Zombie’s vision of this character. I have to ask: had they gone the opposite way with Voorhees or Leatherface, and made them little skinny guys, or even average size, instead of the big monsters they are in those remakes, wouldn’t horror fans have been up in arms?

So why is there this double standard that says it’s ok for Myers to go from this inky, stealthy shape, to this rampaging locomotive, this hulk of a man?

PelusaMG

Well… for all the shit I’ve written (mostly in jest of course), I have to say I give Mr Z credit for trying to do his own thing. I do think there is a paradox though between making a film more ‘real’, and having ‘ghost mom’ walking around in it, but then again (as he says) maybe everything we’ve seen so far will make all sense once it is fitted-together as a whole movie… I hope so! After this interview I’m kind of curious about this film to want to see it on the big screen – that is depending on what else is out that day!

Kane86

I will wait until it comes out on DVD. Yes I rather enjoyed the first one found wat more entertaining I was never a big Myers fan.

Genrewriter

Sounds interesting. I probably won’t end up seeing it but it does look like he’s trying for something a little different. Can’t fault the guy for that.

stabmeagain

Wow, an actual petition? The film has been made and is not going to be reshot for millions of dollars to please what…72 signatures so far? Lets see..so far 72 people signed..multiply that by lets say an average of $10 a movie ticket..so Zombie and co. are losing out on about say…720 bucks so far? Out of the $50,000,000+ this film will more than likely make? Yeah…they’ll change it..just for you guys

lol

p.s. get over it, and goto the movies for a good time

Uncle Creepy

Amen.

Heather Buckley

…

Floydian Trip

The fact that she’s smokin’ hot might have something to do with it.

The Unknown Murderer

Awww, you should’ve asked him why he cast his wife in another one of his movies!

Just joking, man. Although, many would like to know why he does it, but there probably isn’t a truly polite way to place the question.

Uncle Creepy

Don’t we all kind of know why he does it? Right or wrong, just or unjust, it’s his film and he can do whatever he wants.

ZOMBIEFRIENDS

Good Interview Creepy. Why didn’t you ask him why he puts his wife in everything?

Uncle Creepy

Because most people aren’t throwing a senseless shit-fit about it like you are.

ZOMBIEFRIENDS

Okay, I promise this will be it nothing more “HERE” on this. Forgive me Creepy

We, the undersigned, ask that Robert Bartleh Cummings (A.K.A. Rob Zombie), director of Weinstein Company/ Dimension Films upcoming motion picture “H2: Halloween 2” reconsider the decision to take the sequel of the re-visioning of Halloween and The Halloween Franchise in the direction in which it has been directed.

We feel that Rob Zombie’s 2007 Re-visioning of Halloween took the film and franchise in a wrong but still salvageable direction. From the information provided by Robert Cummings on the sequel to that motion picture and the trailer released to the internet on youtube.com and movies.yahoo.com. It is clear that he is taking the Halloween franchise further down the spiral from which many fans feel there will be no return.

We feel that from the scenes of the trailer and information provided the film looks to be a mimic of a few combined horror motion pictures. We also feel that his casting of Sheri Lyn Skurkis (A.K.A. Sheri Moon Zombie) is not based on acting ability or merit, but due only to the fact he must cast his spouse in every motion picture he directs. Sheri Moon should be omitted from the cast and those scenes be corrected.

Another major concern for us fans is that it has been reported by Robert Cummings, other cast and news that Michael Myers will not be wearing the classic William Shatner based mask or any altered or re-envisioned concept of that mask for 70% of the feature motion picture.

We the fans ask that Mr. Cummings re-write and re-shoot the film with the deletion of the mentioned scenes and/or plot. We feel that Michael Myers is 100% evil without cause and should be left at that conclusion. If the film is released as it now stands it will without a doubt destroy the entire franchise and become a mockery of what Debra Hill, John Carpenter, Moustapha Akkad, Tommy Lee Wallace and so many others have immortalized in horror motion picture history.